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'Bridge Bash': 405 to close in Orange County for 20 hours next weekend (map)

KPCC staff

OCTA has completed work on a new southbound I-405 connector to the eastbound SR-22 freeway. Construction crews are scheduled to demolish the old connector on Aug. 17. Orange County Transportation Authority

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Southern California motorists will face a full closure of the 405 in both directions in Orange County for 20 hours, starting at 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, and ending at 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18.

The Orange County Transportation Authority is scheduled to demolish a bridge that until recently connected the southbound 405 Freeway to the eastbound Garden Grove Freeway (SR-22). While crews work, the 405 will be closed between the I-605 and Valley View Street in Westminster.

The OCTA and Caltrans have been working together to get the word out and have named the event "Bridge Bash," complete with hashtag.

“We know this ‘Bridge Bash’ has the potential to disrupt traffic for the hundreds of thousands of people who use the I-405 on a typical summer weekend and we are encouraging drivers to avoid the freeway in this area,” said Greg Winterbottom, chairman of the Orange County Transportation Authority, in a statement.

About 370,000 vehicles travel that section of the 405 every day, making it one of the busiest in the nation, according to OCTA. Typical weekend traffic is only slightly lower — 350,000 vehicles a day.

Drivers are already using a new connector bridge from the 405 to the SR-22, so construction crews will be tearing down the old one. Caltrans crews are also planning to take advantage of the closure to do maintenance work.

How to get around the closures:

The best option is probably to take care of your weekend business on Saturday and stay home Sunday, but for those who still need to take the 405, OCTA issued the following detour information.